You're reading: Ukrainian venture fund invests $150,000 in US tech publication

Ukrainian venture firm Genesis Investments has put $150,000 into a U.S. online media about technology and startups called Hacker Noon, the company announced on Oct. 5.

During this investment round, Hacker Noon also attracted $350,000 from the Greater Colorado Venture Fund. The company was valued at $11.5 million.

With the help of the new investors, Hacker Noon wants to reach a new audience and make its website more profitable, according to Genesis Investments.

It is the first time Genesis Investments has backed the company based in the United States. The fund usually invests in startups founded in Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania because they need more money and support to take off, spokesperson of the company Khrystyna Savchuk told the Kyiv Post.

However, Hacker Noon has become an exception because Genesis liked their idea, Savchuk said.

On its website, Hacker Noon publishes articles submitted by users — any reader can sign in and become an author. The platform reminds of a popular website called Medium, which was launched in 2012 by Twitter co-founder Evan Williams. But compared to Medium, Hacker Noon doesn’t have a paid subscription and generates its income from advertising.

Apart from the publishing platform, Hacker Noon records a podcast about technology and has a job search website with vacancies from U.S. tech companies.

This isn’t the first investment round raised by Hacker Noon. In May 2020, the publication raised $1 million from Coil, a U.S. startup that helps users to monetize their content online.

As of now, nearly 4 million users visit the Hacker Noon website daily, over half of them live outside the U.S. — in India, Britain, Canada and Germany.

“From the very beginning, we’ve aimed to reach a global audience and our community reflects that,” said Linh Dao Smooke, a co-founder of the Hacker Noon.

Although over 13,000 users from around the world contribute to the website, the core team consists of only 14 people, including two Ukrainians.

For Genesis, Hacker Noon is “a new-generation tech media,” said Elena Mazhuha, an investment manager at the fund.

Mazhuha used the platform even before its chief executive David Smooke offered Genesis to join the investment round. Mazhuha said that this is a strategic agreement for both companies.

Hacker Noon plans to expand globally and reach the Ukrainian audience too, while Genesis expects the media company to open its research and development center in Ukraine.